Currently, many computer game platforms allow users to communicate with each other over a network. Several users may compete against each other in an online multiplayer setting. Users may also send messages to each other on a one-to-one basis (i.e., can only send one message to one user at a time; no mass messaging). These messages may involve challenges, wherein a user challenges another user to achieve a particular status in a game. These challenges may involve beating high scores, beating best times, or attaining other achievements. However, these challenges are limited in their reach. A challenge may be issued to only a single challenger at a time. A user who wishes to challenge multiple users may only do so by sending each potential challenger a separate message. An additional challenge faced by a user may be a limited reach within the gaming network. The user may only be aware of a few friends who are active on his gaming platform's network, and as such may be limited to issuing challenges to those friends or other random users connected to the network.
Another limitation faced by current computer game activity-based challenges, is a lack of a universal and accurate scoring system. Currently, computer game activity-based challenges are not associated with a value, or are associated with arbitrary values that fail to reflect the difficulty of the challenge. Thus, the desire for a challenger to engage in a particular computer game activity-based challenge stems from his relationship with the issuer of the challenge. The desire for a challenger to accept a challenge issued by a random user is diminished, because the challenger receives no added benefit (e.g., higher ranking, points to be used within a gaming platform, etc.) from winning the challenge.
It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.